SAN DIEGO—On Wednesday, October 19, SDCE host a breakfast to engage the community to help young adults who have dropped out of school or are not working in San Diego.
SDCE is part of a national Opportunity Youth movement in part supported by the Aspen Institute’s Forum for Community Solutions with the issue locally being focused on by the San Diego Youth Development Office.
Opportunity Youth are young adults between the ages of 16 and 24 who are neither in school nor working. Close to 6.7 million youth in this age group can be described as Opportunity Youth and the cost to our country equates to billions of dollars over their lifetimes in lost productivity and increased social services. Additionally, this group of young people represent an opportunity for San Diego to draw on the talents of our potential leaders and future workforce meeting the needs of local employers. As a whole these youth are eager to further their education, gain work experience, and help their communities.
As the largest provider of adult education in San Diego, SDCE currently serves students who return to school with the goal of finishing a diploma (or equivalency), learning a new job skill or sharpening existing skills to remain employable. More than 44,000 students are served annually at six campuses. Many are disconnected youth between the ages of 18 and 24 who are neither in school nor working. This population is also referred to as opportunity youth and there are 53,000 in San Diego, primarily living in the Mid-City, Southeastern and Barrio Logan neighborhoods. SDCE is working to provide more options and resources to help them succeed, including through partnerships with community based organizations
“SDCE’s mission and focus for 100 years has been to educate adult students and help them reach their educational goals,” said Carlos O. Turner Cortez, Ph.D., President of SDCE. “And our faculty and staff have successfully served well over one million students through this mission, but until now, our efforts have not been directly tied to the next step, which for many students is transitioning into higher education or employment.”
Starting in January young adult students who need to earn a high school diploma or equivalency will be actively recruited to enroll in SDCE programs with emphasis on completing their high school education if they have not done so. Students will also be able enroll in career certificate programs or take college transition courses. This new dual enrollment process initiative for Opportunity Youth is based on a Gateway to College National Network model and is one of many new programs in place at SDCE to serve more at-risk or disconnected youth.
With feedback from the community, SDCE is planning to launch the new San Diego Gateway to College and Career Initiative at SDCE focuses programs and efforts toward getting students from the high school classroom into college or a career. The is an example of the types of new programs and resources at SDCE that support the San Diego Gateway to College and Career coordinated initiative, the first program of its kind in San Diego.
SDCE will host a Community and Clergy Alliance Breakfast on October 19 at the Educational Cultural Complex from 8 to 10 a.m. to educate community organizations about San Diego Continuing Education’s programs and services including new programs as part of the San Diego Gateway to College and Career initiative. SDCE wants to engage and encourage partnerships. Many organizations are already on board, including:
• San Diego Unified School District’s Office of Secondary Education, Adult Education and TRACE programs
• Gateway to College National Network
• San Diego Youth Development Office
• San Diego Workforce Partnership Connect 2 Careers Program and the South Metro Career Center
• Second Chance
• Rise San Diego
• San Diego Green Building Council
• GRID Alternatives
• Electrical Worker Minority Caucus
• Junior Achievement
“Partnerships can mean providing onsite resources to students, serving on industry advisory councils or creating student internships,” said Dr. Rivera-Lacey. “Support can also be as simple as just sharing information about what SDCE can offer.”
Students will have access to counseling support, educational plans, paid internships, case management and support to transition into short-term job training programs through San Diego Gateway to College and Career.
“Students who want to succeed, will succeed as long as they have the resources they need,” said Dr. Turner Cortez. “San Diego Gateway to College and Career is designed to provide every support the student needs for success—from transportation to attend class, to a paid internship—whatever it takes, the San Diego Gateway to College and Career, will do everything possible to make students college- or career-ready when they leave SDCE.”
The White House Council for Community Solutions created a report in 2012 highlighting the need for community organizations to work together and provide more than one path to success for disconnected or opportunity youth—including offering multiple entry and re-entry paths that serve students where they are.
“This winter SDCE will open a new Gateway to College Resource Center with academic counselors, student ambassadors and community resources,” said Star Rivera-Lacey, Ph.D., Vice President of Student Services at SDCE. The new center at the Educational Cultural Complex will begin serving students in January of 2017.
SDCE has a 40-year partnership with San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD) that has been serving disconnected/opportunity youth students through a joint high school diploma program. The program provides SDUSD students ages 17-18 the education they need to complete to earn a SDUSD diploma, but they attend class on an SDCE campus. As a result of the new San Diego Gateway to College Career efforts, SDCE will now be able to serve SDUSD students beginning at age 16.
Faculty and staff at SDCE are receiving specialized training to be able to provide new types of services to students beyond traditional educational instruction and service. Five-day Experiential Learning Institute (FELI) through the Academy for College Excellence is one example. FELI has demonstrated results improving student outcomes and creating positive peer-based learning communities for at-risk student populations.
The Gateway to College program is currently available at 43 colleges in 23 different states. The San Diego Gateway to College and Career is the only program in San Diego affiliated with Gateway to College National Network.
